PEOPLE are our most precious resource. This is the philosophical outlook that has underpinned all of the budgetary presentations made over the years by successive PPP/C administrations. This year’s budget is no different. Even a cursory look at the Budget Estimates would reveal that the main emphasis is on enhancing the quality of life of the Guyanese people, including the poor and the vulnerable.

The truth is that despite the economic and social progress made by successive PPP/C governments over the years, there still exists a fair amount of poverty, especially in the rural and hinterland regions. A study done by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 2006 found that poverty levels were much higher among the rural and indigenous communities even though the incidence of poverty progressively declined since 1992 when the PPP/C took over the reign of power.

Much of that poverty resulted from the incompetence of the PNC regime over the nearly three decades of authoritarian rule. By the late 1980s, the country was considered the poorest in the western hemisphere. Even those who were fortunate to get a job in the public service were unable to make ends meet.

It was not until the PPP/C administration assumed power on October 5, 1992 that genuine efforts were made to arrest and reverse that spiral of poverty and economic decline that had characterised the greater part of PNC misrule. That was no easy task but with good governance, prudent economic management and support from the international community, the country made substantial progress even though that legacy of economic mismanagement under the PNC regime still loomed large and continue to cast a dark shadow over the economic health of the country.

This 2022 Budget seeks to further build on the economic and social gains made by the PPP/C with one added advantage, namely a much bigger financial package than otherwise possible thanks to significant injection of oil revenues into the consolidated fund. One consequence of this development is the creation of more fiscal space not only to address the macro-economic fundamentals but to create new opportunities for the less fortunate to enjoy a better quality of life.

Take for example those who are currently on dialysis due to renal failure. There are several persons currently on dialysis treatment who are severely challenged financially to meet the high costs for such treatment, especially those not covered under the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). The 2022 Budget Estimates now makes provision for patients on dialysis to benefit from financial assistance  to the tune of $600,000 per annum which, even though may not be enough to cover the full cost, will go a long way in terms of easing the financial burdens of those on dialysis treatment. This is indeed a commendable gesture on the part of the PPP/C administration and speaks to the concept of development with a human face as adumbrated by the Irfaan Ali administration. The same can be said for increases in Old Age pension which has now been increased to $28,000 per month.

There are those opposition elements who seek to project the increases as ‘miserly’ but fail to recognise and give credit to the current administration for having raised the pension to one in which pensioners can access a much bigger basket of goods and services than what was provided for by the previous APNU+AFC administration, not to mention what it was in terms of real value in 1992, the last year of the Hoyte administration. The government minimum wage then was below what is now paid to pensioners who back then could hardly buy two loaves of bread not to mention some butter and cheese to go with it. Public servants were pauperised and the fate of pensioners was comparatively worse.

Those who seek to belittle the social gains of the PPP/C administration are either hypocritical or suffer from selective amnesia, especially when such increases in pensions are seen against the background of other benefits enjoyed by senior citizens including subsidies on water and the removal of value-added tax on electricity and other essential food items.

The true wealth of our nation resided in a healthy and educated population and it is precisely for that reason that a huge slice of the budgetary allocation is earmarked for education and health. This is qualitatively different from what transpired under the PNC regime when the emphasis was on the military, foreign service and the Office of the President. Those three entities consumed more than agriculture, education, health, housing and water put together. In fact, housing was on the backburner and at one time was even dropped as a line item on the budget estimates.

The support for dialysis in particular can only be seen as a welcome development, coming shortly after the passage of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Bill 2021 in the National Assembly. This now makes it legal for persons in need of organ donation to do so without having to rely solely on relatives and friends, which may or may not be matched. With the passage of this new bill, the way is now cleared for patients to benefit from organs extracted from a ‘brain dead’ patient.

The health infrastructure of the country is now being modernised in line with international best practices. A number of new state-of-the-art hospitals are earmarked for construction this year which will modernise and make quality health care delivery to all citizens of Guyana.